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"Steamboat Bill, Jr." is a classic Buster Keaton comedy.  It was the last film produced independently by Buster Keaton, who was forced to become a part of MGM, a move that destroyed his creativity and ended his amazing string of short and feature comedy masterpieces that he created for almost a whole decade.   

The film contains probably the single most dangerous stunt of the Silent Era and of the history of film-making.  The entire facade of a 2-story house falls on top of Buster Keaton, who survives thanks to standing exactly in the way of an open window.  This was all real without camera tricks and he could have been killed if his position was off by a few inches.  Buster Keaton had many problems at the time: his marriage was collapsing and he knew that after this film he would lose his independence, all of which may have played a part in his decision to attempt this stunt.  It is said that film crew members left the scene fearing a possible disaster.  Fortunately all ended well and we have another Buster Keaton masterpiece.

"Steamboat Bill, Jr." is ranked number 24 in the list of The Top 100 Silent Era Films of the influential website Silent Era.

 In 2016 the film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry as being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

The film has an outstanding 7.9 rating in IMDB.

Directed by               Charles F. Reisner, Buster Keaton
Produced by             Joseph Schenck, Buster Keaton
Scenario by               Carl Harbaugh          
Based on                    a screen story by Carl Harbaugh
Starring                     Buster Keaton, Ernest Torrence, Marion Byron, Tom McGuire, Tom Lewis
Cinematography       Dev Jennings and Bert Haines
Distributed by           United Artists
Release date               May 12, 1928
Running time             67 min.
Country                      United States
Language                    Silent film, English intertitles

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